This past week I changed all the stuff I use on the Internet to Google from Yahoo. This shift took more time than I anticipated, but having completed the transition I am very happy with it. Among other things my web portal is now iGoogle, I’m using Google Calendar (which syncs with my Outlook calendar automatically), I have also added Google docs for the church Elders and staff to share and collaborate documents on, and I was already using Gmail.
As I made this transition I realized how I am usually very loyal when it comes to brands. Even though I love change in most instances, when it comes to changing brands of something, I’m slow to make changes. For some unknown reason to me, I choose a brand and then stick with it, seemingly for life. I am a Nike-Coke-Windows-Levis-Charmin-Starbucks-GM-Wesleyan-Browning-Dial-Colgate-NIV-Lipton-Sony kind of guy.
The whole issue of brands is an interesting one. Why do some people prefer Coke and others Pepsi? Why do some people drive GM cars while others prefer Ford? Why do some use Apple computers while others use Windows-based machines? Why are we so brand-intensive and brand-loyal? Why are we so quick to defend "our brand," or to tell others about it?
What makes us purchase the same brand time and time again when we have so much choice these days? And why do we “choose” certain athletes, movie stars, politicians, sports teams, and even friends and then stick with them so loyally – even, at times, when such loyalty is not warranted? I did a cursory search on this topic and discovered the issue has been the object of intense study. There are some very deep essays and even dissertations on the topic available on the Internet. Mostly, of course, by scholars and marketers who either love or hate brand loyalty, depending upon their share of the market.
I didn’t dig deep enough to find out much, but I did discover a few things. For one, brand loyalty is not necessarily about price or which product is actually best. We don’t choose our brands logically, we choose with our hearts. Reasons are varied but can be anything from catchy advertisements, or packaging, or the it being brand our parents always used, and a whole cluster of other reasons.
Loyalty was important and noted even in biblical times. Jesus said, “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.” (Matthew 6:24 NIV) Attempting to serve two masters leads to “double-mindedness” (James 4:8), undermining loyalty to a cause. James 5:2.
Of course brand loyalty is important in my field, the church world. Why do people choose one church over another? I’m sure there are a million reasons (proximity, like or dislike of the preacher, the people, facilities, programs, and probably way down the line, the church's theology). My guess would be people choose churches in the same illogical and unexplainable ways they choose the other brands they choose.
What do you think?
As I made this transition I realized how I am usually very loyal when it comes to brands. Even though I love change in most instances, when it comes to changing brands of something, I’m slow to make changes. For some unknown reason to me, I choose a brand and then stick with it, seemingly for life. I am a Nike-Coke-Windows-Levis-Charmin-Starbucks-GM-Wesleyan-Browning-Dial-Colgate-NIV-Lipton-Sony kind of guy.
The whole issue of brands is an interesting one. Why do some people prefer Coke and others Pepsi? Why do some people drive GM cars while others prefer Ford? Why do some use Apple computers while others use Windows-based machines? Why are we so brand-intensive and brand-loyal? Why are we so quick to defend "our brand," or to tell others about it?
What makes us purchase the same brand time and time again when we have so much choice these days? And why do we “choose” certain athletes, movie stars, politicians, sports teams, and even friends and then stick with them so loyally – even, at times, when such loyalty is not warranted? I did a cursory search on this topic and discovered the issue has been the object of intense study. There are some very deep essays and even dissertations on the topic available on the Internet. Mostly, of course, by scholars and marketers who either love or hate brand loyalty, depending upon their share of the market.
I didn’t dig deep enough to find out much, but I did discover a few things. For one, brand loyalty is not necessarily about price or which product is actually best. We don’t choose our brands logically, we choose with our hearts. Reasons are varied but can be anything from catchy advertisements, or packaging, or the it being brand our parents always used, and a whole cluster of other reasons.
Loyalty was important and noted even in biblical times. Jesus said, “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.” (Matthew 6:24 NIV) Attempting to serve two masters leads to “double-mindedness” (James 4:8), undermining loyalty to a cause. James 5:2.
Of course brand loyalty is important in my field, the church world. Why do people choose one church over another? I’m sure there are a million reasons (proximity, like or dislike of the preacher, the people, facilities, programs, and probably way down the line, the church's theology). My guess would be people choose churches in the same illogical and unexplainable ways they choose the other brands they choose.
What do you think?
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